Reluctant Decisions
by Lialane Graest
Summary: They are the perfect couple, but sometimes perfection is only surface deep. Stein cannot fix what is ailing Marie, and it may cost her her life. Will their unborn child be the death of her? Prompted by XStrawberryDuckFeathersX. SteinxMarie.


There were reminders of her everywhere. Post-it notes on his computer, on the fridge, even some on the mirror in the bathroom. Some had hearts drawn on them, others smiley faces. Some were written in a flowing cursive (those were the ones with hearts primarily) and some were written in a messier print. He sat on their purple couch and waited.

The phone call was going to come soon, and he was dreading it. The phone call to tell him which one had lived; Marie, or their child.

She had taken the decision completely out of his hands, knowing that he would never let her die. He had woke and found her gone, another post it left in her place. He had known that there was a complication, had discussed it with her. He had told her that in all likelihood they were going to lose the baby, that there was nothing he could.

His fist slammed down into the couch as he remembered her words.

"_Franken, we're not going to lose the baby. I'm not going to let that happen." Marie had been smiling as she said it, looking down at her stomach. "He's going to grow up strong and healthy, just like his dad."_

"_Marie, be realistic. I can't explain it any better. He may not survive, or you may not. The odds are stacked against the both of you surviving the birth." Stein had almost choked up, his hands clenching at his sides. "If it comes to a choice, I'm not going to let that be you. We can have another child."_

"_Can we? We've been married how long? We've been trying the entire time, Franken. He's our miracle. I won't lose him when we've gone through so much to get him." Marie had leaned forward and kissed him then, a smile on her face. He didn't return it._

"_I forbid it."_

_The smile fell from her face and she just stared at him. "Forbid what? My giving birth? Not really something that you can stop now, Franken. It's going to happen."_

"_I'm not going to let you choose his life over your own." Green eyes stared into hers. "I won't lose you."_

"_I won't be lost; you'll know right where I am." Another smile crossed her face as she looked down at her stomach. "Even if I don't make it, you'll always have a piece of me."_

_He had grabbed her arm roughly. "I don't want a piece of you. I want all of you. I'm not going to lose you, Marie."_

_She only smiled sadly at him, before finally nodding. "I love you, Franken."_

He had thought that she finally understood. Crumpling the note in his hands he realized that he was the one that had been fooled. She was gone now, away from him and his interference, and he had no idea where she had gone.

Which is why he was sitting on their purple couch, in their home, beside their phone. Waiting for the phone call that would tell him there was no longer a them. That he had lost her. He raised his hand to the screw in his head before he realized that it was the same one that held the note and he unwrinkled the crumpled paper instead, reading and re-reading the words written on it.

_Franken, I love you. I love you more than anything. If I don't come home, please, know that it is because of my own choice, not the fault of whoever is delivering our child. By the time you wake, I'll be gone, and I won't be in Death City. I love you._

There was another heart on it, enclosing the minute writing. It was the most beautiful writing he had ever seen her produce, and he wondered briefly how many times she had had to restart just to make it fit inside the heart on a post-it.

He had woke with the taste of lipstick on his lips, and he knew that she had kissed him goodbye and left, all without waking him. His hand unknowingly crumpled the note in his hand again and he found himself on his feet, moving towards the computer.

A few moments later he was scanning the list of hospitals within 100 miles of Death City and smiled, realizing that he had caught Marie.

There was only one close enough for her to get to quickly, and he was going there. A minute later he was striding out the door to his lab, the metal door clanging shut behind him.

* * *

She was sedated. The doctor believed that to be the best course of action, just in case the birth did prove fatal. She had signed all of the permission slips and waivers; had even named the child already. She had named the father, and signed a consent form for resuscitation if possible in the event that she did die during the birth.

Marie Mjolnir-Stein had everything in order for her death, should it happen. She went under the anesthesia with a smile on her lips, her last words being for them to tell him that she loved him. The anesthesiologist had reassured her that she would, and slipped the mask over her face.

Azusa sat outside in the waiting room, tears rolling down her face at what she was allowing her best friend to do. The death scythe jerked her head upright as she heard the door slide open and heard a very familiar voice.

"Azusa." Stein stood in front of her, staring at her. "Azusa, tell me where she is."

The death scythe stood. "She's signed a waiver that forbids you from entering the room. She's not your patient here, Stein."

"She's my wife and I'll be damned if I lose her. Tell me where she is, Azusa. Now." Stein cranked the screw in his head, glaring at her. It seemed as if he had forgotten all about how he had despised and perhaps feared the 'Queen of Committee Chairmen'.

Azusa was silent and Stein turned and went to the nurses' desk. She could hear him from where she was and flinched as he provided his credentials to the nurse sitting there. A moment later she watched as he walked with the nurse to a door that she unlocked and let him through.

* * *

Stein slipped away from the direction he had been pointed, wandering through the hospital and towards the maternity wing where he knew Marie would be. He could sense her wavelength a ways ahead of him and he sped up his steps, stopping in front of the door to the operating room and steeling himself for the shit storm that was about to happen.

He walked in and found two doctors bent over Marie. Her blood was dripping to the floor, and she was completely sedated.

"You can't be in here!" One of the doctors shouted. The anesthesiologist pushed a call button for a nurse and Stein just stood there, watching them.

"Don't let her die," his voice was cold, "or she will be the last patient you ever practice on."

Strong arms wrapped around him a moment later, and drug him from the room as a thin, piercing wail split the shocked silence.

* * *

His hands were cuffed together and his lab coat was sitting on a table, its contents spread across it. He wasn't looking at it or the people in the room, he was instead staring at a point in space no one else could see, watching the pulses in Marie's soul as it grew stronger and weaker.

Their son's soul was gone. The child hadn't survived long after childbirth, the defect too severe for the hospital to handle. Marie was currently struggling to survive the ordeal. She had hemorrhaged during the C-section and nearly bled to death on the table- the doctors were having trouble stabilizing her.

And he was cuffed to a table, under arrest for trespassing, an officer demanding answers. He refused to speak though.

Marie's soul wavered and faded and he felt his breath hitch in his throat. It strengthened momentarily before fading almost completely. A breath later it was shining, not strongly, but stably and Stein sighed in relief before giving the officer his attention.

"My name is Dr. Franken Stein. The woman whose room I walked into was my wife. She was giving birth to our son, who did not make it. I believe that I had a right to be present at the birth of my child." Stein glanced down at the cuffs. "Are these really necessary? I would like to see my wife."

"Do you have proof of identity?"

"It's sitting on the table in front of you, along with my personal effects." Stein said simply, glad that he didn't have a scalpel in his pocket for a change.

After another 15 minutes of questioning they let him go, his wrists red from the cuffs. He strode out of the room with his lab coat swirling behind him, and headed towards the room he knew that Marie was in.

He opened the door slowly to find her sobbing in her bed. She looked up at him through a red, teary eye and just burst into more tears. He focused enough to realize that there was still a cradle in the room and he felt himself grow angry at that oversight. Two steps took him to the cradle and a strong shove sent it into the hall.

Another step took him to the side of the bed and he held her in his arms as she sobbed over the loss of the child that they had both wanted. It took him a moment to realize that she was muttering apologies against his chest.

"Marie, don't apologize…" he said softly, tilting her face up to look at him.

"I… ran away… what if… what if… you could have saved him?" She sobbed out.

Stein gritted his teeth, having wondered the same thing. "The important thing is you, Marie. What is it that Spirit is fond of saying? 'Everything happens for a reason.'? We have each other, Marie. We can try again."

She just sobbed, and he held her tighter. He couldn't let himself mourn for the child they never got to truly love while she was hurting so badly and blaming herself, so he bottled the pain up and let her pour hers out on him.

* * *

**A/N: Not quite the exact prompt that I was given by XStrawberryDuckFeathersX, but I hope it was close enough to the original prompt :)**

**I don't own Soul Eater.**


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